Church of God In Christ – Part 1

My grandmother, Alice McNair Robinson, used to go to church quite regularly and was a long-time member of the Church of God In Christ in Brooklyn, New York. Among the things my mother gave me after we moved grandma into her nursing home was this brochure from the church from 1954.

In typical fashion for my grandmother, her handwriting appears all over this brochure. She wrote on everything! On walls in her bedroom even! And, you should see some of the pages my mother scanned for me of her address book.

But, I am finally getting around to scanning this brochure and taking steps to add the information to my files. The brochure was for the 12th anniversary service of the church and Rev. Ithiel Clemmons was at this time the youth leader. Rev. Clemmons died in 1999, but I do remember having met him when I was younger. My mother was a long-time member of Church of God In Christ in Greensboro, NC when we lived there when I was a child. I even have some pictures of me when I was young outside the “old church” and then they built a new church. I have to dig those pictures out.

But, back to the brochure, on the inside is an schedule of services for the week – Monday thru Friday, and many names are mentioned.

The Board of Elders for the church were C.W. Daniels, J.P. Nealy, J. Haynes, C. Roberson, G. Sutton, and J. Norman Jr. The lead reverend was Rev. Frank Clemmons, who was Ithiel’s father.

Again, my grandmother’s handwriting on the program indicates who was still at the church, who had moved to their own church, who had died, etc. I do not know when she wrote these extra notes, but they are informative in any case.

I have much more to share regarding this church. I will interview my mother tomorrow and get some more oral history from her so I can capture some of hers and my grandmother’s experiences. More to come…

Hello Tanyea, My name is Eric Williams and I am currently doing some writing (dissertation) on the late Bishop Ithiel Clemmons. I came across your scanned document with Ithiel Clemmons on the front as well as your reflections on First Church. I am wondering it would be possible to obtain a copy of the scanned document or anything else you may have on the Clemmonses, First Church. I would even be interested in copies of obituarues from church members. I know my request is somewhat odd but the type of materials that you have is quite valuable for the work. I hope to hear from you soon. Eric Williams